Qianyuan: My crew comes from the world of anime.

Chapter 67 No Return

The Nautilus emitted a dull, ominous sound, sending a chill down the spines of everyone on board.

At this moment, even the usually composed Luo Tianming felt his legs go weak... but he still forced himself to speak:

"It's alright, this is just the sound of compression joints in the hull being squeezed together, not a crack in the hull..."

Levi, standing nearby, made a sarcastic remark:

"This is the third time you've said that..."

Luo Tianming: "..."

"Don't worry, the fracturing limit of this ship is 2150 meters. We are currently at 1700 meters... We can already see the cavity in the lower cave, look."

He pointed to the large hole that appeared on the sonar system—the seawater here was a noticeably different color, and from a distance it looked as if a 'lake' had appeared beneath the surface.

Levi showed no excitement whatsoever. She felt that these caves were not good things. On the sonar panel, they looked like the gaping maw of a giant 'creature', its massive fangs bared towards the sky, waiting for any unsuspecting prey to fall down on its own.

"..."

Finally, once they reached a depth of 1800 meters, all the terrifying noises from the Nautilus disappeared... However, this also meant that they had better not dive any further, otherwise the immense pressure of the seawater would crack the hull and flood the submarine's interior.

As soon as the Nautilus entered the cave, a dedicated radio channel picked up their signal.

"Hey~! You... a T1-class reconnaissance submarine from the Alliance, oh my sweetheart~ your armament is really scary."

"..."

The other party's fancy way of speaking made Luo Tianming feel uncomfortable.

He shouted into the radio channel that had been deliberately broken into: "This is Nautilus, please state your affiliation..."

"'This is the Nautilus, please state your affiliation~' Hahahaha—!" The other party not only repeated his words but also let out a maniacal laugh.

"Hey, little guy, don't be so nervous, and don't put on that businesslike expression. You and I both know that this is an area that even the Europa Alliance doesn't govern. Any captain looking to make a quick buck will sail here, so stop pretending to be a gentleman."

Luo Tianming: "..."

He secretly sent Lucy a hint, asking her to hack into that radio channel.

At the same time, he lured the other person by asking, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?! Hahahaha—who am I? I am the child of the clown mother... What? You ask me what the clown mother is? Oh, I can tell you that the clown mother is a three-pound custard pie, but that doesn't mean anything to you, right? Hehe, you still need to study and practice more."

Luo Tianming: "..."

He now knew who this madman was; this guy clearly came from another dangerous and extreme organization, 'The Clown Mother's Son'.

The 'clown mom' they talk about is their ultimate belief, representing a deconstructivist idealist philosophy.

These guys are all crazy. You usually only see them inside the station, but I never expected that a madman would actually drive a submarine away from the station.

Who knows if these damn lunatics will just randomly open fire?

"..."

Luo Tianming looked at Lucy in the distance, wanting to ask her if she had discovered anything.

But then I heard her say into the communicator, "No, we can't figure out what's going on with their ship. It's like their ship has several control systems; we can't tell which one is the real one."

Luo Tianming knew that this was the clowns' usual practice—they were like Sichuan opera actors who could change faces; after tearing off a mask, what was revealed underneath was not the truth, but something much deeper and more complex.

The more you get caught up in the desire to find the truth, the deeper you will be pulled by those clowns, eventually falling into deep self-doubt, then being enveloped by their nihilism, and finally becoming one of those madmen.

Therefore, Luo Tianming told Lucy not to worry about those things, and that he would deal with these guys.

He turned on the radio and said, "What exactly do you want?"

"What are you doing?" The clown chuckled. "Everything we have is from the Clown Mother, and it was also the Clown Mother's arrangement for us to meet here—all the threads will converge into one. Although we are on different paths, in the end, all the answers are in one point, right, Captain?"

Luo Tianming: "..."

He was both frightened and annoyed by this cryptic explanation: "Did you come here just to play riddles with me?!"

"Hehe... He actually thinks this is a riddle! How interesting, how interesting! What's the answer? A three-pound custard pie... Hahaha."

“Captain,” the clown, having finished laughing, suddenly said ominously on the radio channel.

“You shouldn’t have come here… You’re too ambitious; people like you will become prey for the ‘Abyss’.”

"What you gain in the abyss, you will lose... Unless you throw offerings into the sea, this journey will be a one-way trip!"

"...!"

In the past, exchanges between submarines were simple blessings... but this time, the other side sent words that sounded like a curse.

——!

Instantly, the enraged Revy noticed Luo Tianming's unusual mood, and she immediately shouted:

"Alo! Set sail and catch those lunatics! I'm going to sink them all and send them to spend the rest of their lives in the abyss!"

Surprisingly, Luo Tianming remained silent: "..."

Levi, standing to the side, spoke up worriedly, "Alo..."

Lucy's voice came through the earpiece: "Captain, should we catch up with those people now? I'm still locating their position..."

"..."

His answer surprised everyone.

Luo Tianming: "No, let's forget about it."

He said with some melancholy, "So what if we catch up with them? Just because they were talking nonsense on the radio, are we supposed to go up and sink them?"

"..."

Luo Tianming: "It's not necessarily a bad thing that those clown saints' sons are wandering around here... Their warnings can make many people who shouldn't be here to try their luck back down. Let them go."

"As for the so-called 'advice' and 'philosophy' that those guys talk about, it's best not to listen to a single word of it or try to figure out its meaning. If you take it too seriously, you might end up like them, a madman."

"..."

Then, the Nautilus became unusually quiet—and so, amidst a series of unexpected events, the group began their first deep-sea cave dive.

Chapter 68 The Mine

Three hours later, the Nautilus arrived at one of their destinations: a cave entrance halfway up a mountainside that seemed like a bottomless abyss.

According to the information Catherine provided about the cave, it was discovered by a mining team. Their primary target was iron ore, but they unexpectedly stumbled upon a diamond crystal cave...

Although the mining team was eager to claim the site for themselves, unfortunately, the diamond pit was inhabited by a Mudgoon Velociraptor nest. The non-combatants were killed in the raid, losing more than half of their personnel.

Since the loss of personnel could not be concealed, they had no choice but to report the matter to their superiors... Afterwards, although several people came, they all returned empty-handed.

The reason is simple: the entrance to the cave is too small, with the narrowest part only a little over three meters wide, so only people can be sent down to clear out the monsters... Most people are simply unwilling to take that risk.

The monsters that inhabit this place are also quite troublesome.

"..."

Claydol Velociraptor - This is an extremely agile creature whose appearance is like a hybrid of a dinosaur and a shrimp;

They have two strong legs, enabling them to walk on two feet in water and on land. They have extremely sharp beaks that can penetrate the hull defenses of submarines, and they can easily kill humans by biting them.

The clay figurine velociraptor's greenish skin was covered with many gray carapaces and tiny, almost degenerate hand-like appendages.

"Alright, have you all remembered the characteristics of this monster?" Luo Tianming explained in the manner of a professor who had studied this thing for many years:

"When dealing with them, remember to aim for their unarmored bellies and hind legs. The other areas are covered by carapace, so hitting them will..."

“Alright,” Levi interrupted his explanation with a hint of sarcasm, “Are you a children’s program host?”

She carefully checked her diving gear, put it on, and slung her two beloved guns over her waist. This time, she had prepared 'arrow-shaped bullets' in advance. These were bullets with extremely high penetrating power and the ability to cause severe physical damage. Only a very small number of them were produced on Europa.

Levi said casually, "I'm not interested in the origins or characteristics of those monsters at all. You just need to point out where the enemy is."

Luo Tianming: "..."

Regarding Leivi's attitude, Luo Tianming felt that she was going to suffer a great loss by underestimating those guys.

Despite their small size and weaker strength compared to most creatures, the Muddovery Raptors are among the most threatening creatures that can infiltrate a submarine.

Luo Tianming silently put on his diving suit and clipped a signal gun, specifically designed for launching flares, to his waist.

Meanwhile, watching them put on their diving suits... Takemi Tae, who usually hid in the infirmary and never came out, took the initiative this time:

"Wait... I want to go too."

"..."

Luo Tianming glanced at her. Miao Miao, who hadn't slept for several days in a row, had developed severe dark circles under her eyes. Coupled with her pale skin from lack of rest, her somewhat dry lips, and her terrible punk makeup... she should probably be called 'gothic makeup' now.

She spoke with an air of absolute authority:

“I must go. No matter what, I will go this time... At least I want to personally verify the records of the ‘experiment’.”

Luo Tianming: "..."

Wu Jianmiao, despite wearing sky-high heels, was still a bit shorter than him, but at this moment she was staring at him with a stubborn expression and slanted eyes.

It was as if if he didn't agree, they would just keep staring at each other forever.

"..."

In fact, Luo Tianming could roughly guess what Miaomiao had been doing these days... Every time she entered the infirmary, she would impatiently shoo away everyone else while wearing a gas mask, as if afraid they would breathe even a drop of the air inside.

Judging from her appearance, she was most likely dealing with some dangerous drugs.

Medicine and poison are often just different in dosage.

What Wu Jianmiao wanted was a drug that could completely 'kill' the giant beast. After seeing the thing's restorative power, she had an idea: that guy must be an excellent experimental subject. If she could use the drug to make it work, then her medical skills would be elevated to a new level.

It was this stubborn idea that made her lock herself in the infirmary for several days.

Having no other recourse, Luo Tianming could only say:

"Alright, but... you have to follow orders obediently. If you can't take it anymore, go back to the submarine and rest properly."

Takemi's fluffy short hair bounced up and down: "Yes, I'll be good..."

Luo Tianming: "..."

A sudden desire arose in his heart: Miaomiao was in a rare 'soft girl' state right now, so he could order her to do whatever he wanted, right?

...Is that okay?

Having exhausted her last bit of strength, Wu Jianmiao, now in a daze, resembled a large porcelain doll; no matter how Luo Tianming manipulated her, she wouldn't get angry...

After ruffling her hair several times, he finally helped Wu Jianmiao into a diving suit amidst Levi's impatient clicks of the tongue, and then tightly strapped the injection gun she had brought to her waist.

"..."

Just then, Lucy, who had finished dealing with the nuclear reactor in the power room, happened to see the three people wearing diving suits, so she said, "Are you going to go outside?... I want to too."

Revy laughed smugly: "Hmph~ No way, there are only three diving suits, and one person has to stay in the submarine to guard it..."

Lucy: "..."

This time, it was her turn to stare at Luo Tianming with her purple eyes, radiating pressure.

The message conveyed seems to be: Really?

"..."

Being stared at like that by her is really stressful—it feels like your husky, which you usually pet against its natural instincts, has suddenly turned into a wild Siberian wolf.

To prevent his blood vessels from freezing, Luo Tianming quickly said, "It's true. To prevent the submarine from being stolen and to prepare for emergencies, we have to leave someone to guard it. Miaomiao doesn't know much about machinery, and we had no choice but to let her stay last time."

"..."

Even after hearing this explanation, she maintained her icy expression, moved closer to Luo Tianming, and with her cherry-red, glossy lips, aggressively whispered in his ear:

"Next time, take me with you... okay?"

Luo Tianming: "..."

Why does he feel like his status as 'captain' is getting lower and lower the longer he works?

Luo Tianming could only nod frantically... which finally made the goddess, who shimmered with bewitching light, leave with some satisfaction.

"..."

After activating the return capsule, the three of them left the submarine.

At the same time, Lucy's voice came through their headphones.